I am an artist - photographer, illustrator, and sometimes painter. I was born and raised in New York but I now live in France with my husband in a nice little suburb only 10 miles from Paris. I am disturbed, funny, sad and happy all at once! Read my blog and my thoughts. :)

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

"You uploaded a photo that violates our Terms of Use, and this photo has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site."

Since being on the Internet, I've always had to be concerned where I can post my artwork. As most people that know my art have seen, my work is not pornographic, violent or in any way, shape or form inflicts harm on anyone regardless of age, race or culture. In fact, my work couldn't be any less offensive than it already is...

Upon signing Terms of Service agreements (via Facebook, MySpace, etc.), I believe I adhere to those rules listed above...all except the mere term nudity. Nudity does certainly have a sensual and sexual connotation, but in the fine art world, it is accepted, expected and legitimized. However, nudity in fine art is also a symbol of vulnerability, confrontation of personal issues and other psychological enigmas. To take it a further step, as some see a nude photograph as exploitation of the subject, if I am showing myself nude, then who is being exploited?

And what about nudity in painting, sculpture or mixed media? Are those pieces absolved from the Terms of Service?

I strongly believe that as we approach the year 2011, nudity in art should be made an exception on public sites as long as there are the above rules applied - no harm is being done to anyone, period. The only thing I can find a problem is if the nude in question is a model, not the artist, where a model release would be required that allows the artist to publish the piece.

As gray as this subject may appear to those in charge of so quickly plastering the Terms of Service tag on the least threatening, it is more black and white than made out to be.

In other words, leave my naked body alone and go after the real criminals that are hurting children and those that need saving.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Aforementioned image has been submitted to the collaborative project, "Seeking Kali". From the little I know, Kali (or Shiva - the many armed female icon) is the Goddess of Destruction and Wrath - assuming she is like a Mother Earth figure. With all of the 2012 predictions, the very real issues we have with our earth, and the music I've been listening to lately (the German neo-medieval group Faun, for instance) - I felt it was a sign for me to create an image for this.

Here is the image once more, but please go to the Seeking Kali blog and check out some pretty awesome imagery:http://seekingkali.blogspot.com/

Monday, December 13, 2010

My dear readers, how I am sure you are bored and have given up on ever reading any new words from me. I wish I had a lot to update. I am still in between many concepts and have shot quite a bit of film but very little I actually love. Have more ideas brewing, though and hope I can work on some of them even as the cold of Winter is now upon us.

It's been since October so let me see...I did a living statue performance at the Ray Johnson: A Book About Death opening on November 3. It got rave reviews which I am pleased about.

I went to FaerieCon in November as well. What a time! I went to show off my wings but I also went to see if my work would have some kind of niche there. My thought, in the end, is that my photography doesn't belong on a calendar, bookmark or greeting card. I also learned that unless I had a spouse that can pay for everything, I can not dedicate as much time to making art as I would love to. Having said that, my loving and generous husband provides as much as he can and I don't ask for more from him. I just need to try and make the most of my free time as I can to make art....and I do try.

Damn Facebook.....

I will leave you with a fairly new image though. The leather headpiece was an acquisition from FaerieCon. Handmade by a wonderful artisan named Donovan. Love it!